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Convicted Burglars Offer Frank Advice To Worried Chicagoans

Keep your cat away from windows while you’re out of town, said one former burglar, "Because who are they waiting on? You guys.”Pelican / Flickr

Keep your cat away from windows while you’re out of town, said one former burglar, "Because who are they waiting on? You guys.”Pelican / Flickr

Convicted Burglars Offer Frank Advice To Worried Chicagoans

By
Lauren Chooljian

April 26, 2017, 4 AM UTC

Chicago aldermen on the Northwest Side said they have received a lot of complaints lately about burglaries in their neighborhoods, so they decided to bring in some experts: convicted burglars.

On a recent rainy night, about 120 neighbors sat around folding tables at the St. Francis Borgia Catholic Church for a program called “Keeping it Real,” a collaboration between Chicago police and the Safer Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps people with criminal records re-enter society.

Alderman often host Keeping it Real events in their ward if there is a spike in burglaries or if they feel their residents could benefit from a little extra, albeit blunt, insight on how to best protect their home.

Some of the burglars’ tips:

Keep your cat away from windows while you’re out of town. “Your cats seem to stand in the window, because who are they waiting on? You guys,” said one former burglar. “So we know nobody’s home, because your cat is desperately at the window.”